Known as an optical switch device that switches the coupled state of optical fibers and other optical waveguides is MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System), which uses a micro actuator and a micro optical element produced by a semiconductor process (JP-A 2002-250874, for example).
Optical waveguide switching devices of the optical waveguide type have a considerable optical loss due to coupling and branching of the optical waveguide fiber. The lifespan of the device is relatively short since power must be constantly fed to the heater in order to maintain the switched condition of the optical waveguide. MEMS-type optical switches suffer from high manufacturing costs because semiconductor processes are used.
In view of the above, there is proposed a device that switches the coupled state between optical-waveguides by causing a rectangular prism mirror to directly face an optical fiber array in which a shared input optical waveguide and a plurality of output optical waveguides are arranged, and moving the rectangular prism mirror in the direction in which the optical fibers are aligned. This type of optical switch device, for example, has a movable member mounted with a rectangular prism mirror, and a fixed-side member for supporting the movable member with wires that can move in the up and down directions and the left and right directions in which the optical fibers are aligned, wherein the optical waveguides are switched by moving the movable member to a desired position by driving the member with a magnetic drive circuit.
However, an optical switching device of the type that moves the rectangular prism mirror to switch the coupled state between optical waveguides has a drawback in that the coupled state between the optical waveguide for input and the desired optical waveguide for output fluctuates with as little as a slight displacement of the rectangular mirror due to vibrations or other effects that are transmitted from the outside, even if the stop position of the rectangular mirror is controlled with high precision, because the optical axis along which light is emitted from the optical switch device continuously moves with the position of the rectangular prism mirror.
In view of the above, there is considered a configuration that prevents positional offset of the movable member by providing a clamp mechanism for pressing and fixing the movable member to the fixed-side member with a spring-loaded pushing member. In this case, the pushing member is formed with a ferrous material, and the movable member is made moveable by disposing a solenoid on the fixed-side member, and attracting the pushing member with the solenoid against the urging force of the spring to lift the pushing member.